Dengue cases in Delhi jump to 1,020; 52 percent of them recorded in October says SDMC report

New Delhi: Dengue cases crossed the 1,000-mark in Delhi this season, with nearly 540 people being diagnosed with the vector-borne disease in October only, according to a municipal report released on Monday. Also, 411 cases of malaria and 109 of chikungunya have been reported this season till 20 October, the report said. The report says at least 539 of the dengue cases came to light in the first three weeks of October, which accounts for over 52 per cent of the total cases reported this season. [caption id=“attachment_5425041” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. PTI[/caption] Of the 1,020 dengue cases this year, 374 were recorded in September, 58 in August, 19 in July, eight in June, 10 in May, two in April, one in March, three in February and six in January. Two malaria cases were reported in February, one each in April and March, 17 in May, 25 in June, 42 in July, 82 in August, 138 in September and 103 till 20 October, according to South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), which tabulates data on vector-borne diseases for the city. A senior doctor at a government-run facility advised people to take all precautions like wearing full-sleeves and not allowing the breeding of mosquito larvae inside their homes. “Water coolers should be dried up when not in use as dengue infection carrying mosquitoes breed there a lot. Mosquito nets should be used at home,” the doctor said. The cases of vector-borne diseases are usually reported between July and November, but the period may stretch to mid-December. No vector-borne disease case was reported till January 13. The report said domestic breeding checkers found mosquito breeding in 2,10,241 households in the city till October 20. It said 1,69,512 legal notices have been served for various violations and “24,104 prosecutions initiated”. As a pro-active measure, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal had a few months ago directed local bodies and other agencies to intensify vector-control measures. He had also asked for regular meetings at the level of district magistrates with all stakeholders to review the situation in their respective districts. According to SDMC, 10 people died due to dengue in Delhi last year, of whom five were not residents of the national capital. Overall, the vector-borne disease had affected 9,271 people in the city last year.